Shearing mechanism



Nov. 12, 1935. G. 1.. WINTERS SHEARING MECHANISM Filed July 18, 1955 4Sheets-Sheet 1 A ORNEY Nov 12, 1935. e WINTERS SHEARING MECHANISM FiledJuly 18, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ii w IN VENT OR 662/405/ 4. VW/i/d/J.

TTORNEY Nov, 12, 1935. G. L. WINTERS SHEARiNG MECHANISM Filed July 18,1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 llllll/l/ 111111111,

r/Iflllllll/rlIl/d 7lll/fll m ANN ///u I D II H H I A TTORNEY PatentedNov. 12, 1935 I I I v v NITED STATES. TE T O FI Gardner L. Winters,Dormo'nt,YPa., assignor to Aluminum Company of Americallittsburgh, Pa.,a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 1s, 1933', Serial No.680,938 l siciaims. (or. 164-430).

T The invention relates to machines for .trimin central vertical crosssection. Fig. 3 is a cross ming and slitting sheet material,.withparticular sectionalview taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2.

reference to theperiormance of these operations Fig. 4 is a similarcross sectional view taken on sheet metal and metal foil. On the line-IV of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is anend v 5 An object of my invention is toprovide a maelevational view of the same machine. n chine of the typeindicated which is simple and Fig. 6 1s a fragmentary view showing to asome-.

compact in construction and yet which permits what enlarged scale theright-hand portion of of an. unusually wide range of adjustment. In hmachine Shown in With 98861112191 D providing th sire j t e t '1 have ,1tions of the mechanism broken away in central worked toward facility ofadjustment and a rea vertical cross sectionis a cross 'io duction in thenumber or operations necessary to View taken through the center of oneof the edge be performed in connection with a given adtlllhmmg 5 a d aV' IV:II1nFl g. 6. justm t, I Figs. 8 and 9 are fragmentary sectionalviews In trimming and slitting machines it is fretaken as indlcalied atVIII-VIII and n quently desirable that the machine be converted andshowing to an enlarged Scale the fiexii from a trimmer and'shtter to atrimmer and ble driving connection between the two operating vice versa.It is accordingly an object of the Shafts of an edge tfimmhg h on whichShafts invention. to provide means for rendering the are mohhted 'F ofrotary kmvesslitting mechanism inoperative or moving it out of 10 1S a helevatmh'al i of the safne F the way-so that the edge trimming operationmay of the machine Shown m and be accomplished without interference.Another g h shows the mechamsm for object is to provide a verticaladjustment between swlhgmg h? shttlhg Into and of ,the trimming andslitting knives so that erative position, l ig. 11 being an elevationalview pehsatioh can he made for wear and the decreas of the slitting unitwith its associated mechanism,

2 mg diameter of the knives as they are ground as viewed from the rightend of Fig. 10, the frame down from time to time of the machineappearing in cross section.

A further and controlling object is to provide T machme m Its generaloljgamzatmn a machine in which the foregoing objects as prises amainbase framel, vertical end supports well as others, may be satisfiedby an organization or pedestals'z honzon-t 31 Supporting beam ofelemntsin which a single source of power 3, which is slidably mounted onthe pedestals 30 for vertical adjustment with respect tothe base I z ig'fi g'gggg ggz :fifg g g zg of the machine. The mechanism for effectingedge trimming i with respect to other this adjustment will besubsequently described. to accommodate different widths of sheet andalso Supported by and bet-ween the base frame l and 36 3 with respecttothe slitting knives the horizontal beam 3 are the edge trimming mediumof such flexible drive and which is laterarranged that it can be raisedand lowered with j tm nt and thelower par units 4 and 5 and the slittinunit 6., Each A particular ob ect is to provide a flexible dl'lV- ofthese comprises a coipemting Set of mg gear of novel character to pemnt'adjustment rotary knives one of the knives of each set being of the edgetrimming knives, and a slitting unit,

carried by a shaft which is supported in a memthe upper kmfe of whlch isdnveh through the her carried bythe base frame I, whereas the 40supporting structure and a part of the operating mechanism for the upperknife of each set is carried by a member supported on and depending fromthe beamt3.

The slitting unit does not require lateral ad- 45 t of this mechanism isrespect to the maih frame, thus Permlttmg, pivotally mounted on theframe 1 by means of form and simultaneous adjustment of the various thebrackets 1, while the upper part is pivotally cooperating Sets Of rotaryknivesother Object secured to the beam 3 by means of the brackets 8. andadvantages will appear in connection with a The edge trimming units 4and 5 likewise comdescription of the drawings in which: prise two partsin the form of telescoping hous- Fig. 1 is a plan view showing thegeneral orings 9, l0 and H, l2, respectively. The lower ganization of amachine embodying the -inven housings 9 and H are carried by the frame Iof tion. Fig.2 is a front elevational view of the the machine, andthe'upper housings l0 and I2 ally adjustable with respect thereto.

v Another object is to provide a machine in which the uppertrimming andslitting knives or each set are'carried by a single member which is so 5same machine, the main base frame being shown are carried by the crossbeam 3. The edge trimming units 4 and 5 are laterally adjustable toaccommodate varying widths of sheet, and this adjustment is effected bymeans of lead screws I3 and H which pass through the pedestals 2. Thismechanism will be more fully described further on.

The manner of mounting the horizontal beam 3 upon the end supports orpedestals 2 is shown in .Fig. 6. The construction there shown isduplicated at .the other end of the machine. The upper portion of theend with a cylindrical guiding surface l5 conforming with a cylindricalaperture 5 in the beam casting Thesurfaces 5 and I6 are accuratelymachined to provide a guide for the vertical movelocated aperturethreaded to receive a spindle |8 which is correspondingly threaded. Theupper end of the cylindrical aperture IS in the beam casting 3 20, whichis provided to enclose a portion of theactuating mechanism which is usedto raise and lower the horizontal beam 3. The member I9 is secured tothe beam casting 3 in any suitable manner, as by the studs 2|. Thespindle I8 is provided with an ported on the shoulder 22 of the threadedspindle |8 so that vertical adjustment may be effected by rotation ofthe spindle;

It is a feature that the rotation of the ad usting spindles at each thetwo spindles |8 may be effected by turning the wheel 21 which is rigidlysecured to a shaft 28 which enters the aforesaid housing 25 and isgeared to the shaft 25 by means of pinions (not shown) The wheel 21 maybe a handwheel or a sprocket wheel actuated by a chain which may in turnbe driven either by hand or from any sui able source of power.

As the beam 3 is raised and lowered it carries with it the upperhousings l8 and I2 of the edge unit and making it possible tosimultaneously and the outer face of the housing H and extending support2 is provided an aperture 29 through is moved to the right or to theleft, according to 10 the direction of rotation of the lead screw, andby reason of the telescoping. connection between thelower housing II andthe upper housing 2, lateral adjustment of the complete edge trimmingunit 5 is thus effected. To permit this lateral 15 movement, thehousings II and I2 are provided with a slidable connection to the baseframe I and beam 3 respectively. These slidable connections are shown at35, 38 (Figs. 4, 7, and 9) and at 31, 38, 89, 40 (Figs. 6 and 7). Thebeam casting go 3 isconveniently provided with the raised portions 4|and the upper housing |2 with raised portions 42, which may beaccurately machined to provide a smooth sliding fit between the two.After the edge trimming unit has been adjusted :5 to the desiredposition it is secured in place by the locking wheels 43 and 44. Themechanism for adjusting the left-hand edge trimming unit 4 by means ofthe lead screw I3 is the same as the mechanism which has just beendescribed. .0

An important feature of my invention resides in the flexibletransmission of power through the adjustable telescoping housings of theedge trimming units 4 and 5 and from the edge trimming unit 5 to theupper part of the slitting unit 5. 35 Reference will first be had to thegeneral arrangement for transmitting power to the three units 4, 5 and 5to drive the rotary knives or shears. In Fig. 2 the main drive shaft isindicated at. 45. The shaft is connected through the 0 coupling 48 to asuitable source of power (not shown). Drive shaft 45 passes through thelower part of each of the lmits 4, 5 and 6, and by means of gearing nowto be described drives both the upper and the lower rotary knives of aeach of the three uni In Fig. 6, the drive shaft 45 is shown passingthrough the housings of the lower parts of the edge trimming unit 5 andslitting unit 5. Keyed, as by means of a key 48, to the shaft 45 within5 the housing ||.'is'a pinion 41. The key 48 is equal in length to, orless than, the width of the hub of pinion 41 and is received within theelongated keyway 49, which construction permits the trimming unit 5 tobe moved laterally without disturbing the driving connection between thedrive shaft 45 and pinion 41. Pinion 41 mesheswith a pinion 58 which issecured to the shaft 58a on which the 10 .ver rotary trimming knife 5|is mounted. From the pinion 58 00 power is transmitted to the ,upperrotary knife 52 through two intermediate gears or pinions 53, 54. Thesepinions intermesh, as will be seen in Figs. 7 and 9, to form a geartrain for driving the shaft 55 on which the pinion 56 and the upperknife 52 are mounted. Pinion 56 meshes with the upper intermediate gear54 (Figs. 7 and 8), and also with a gear 51, which is slidably mountedon a rectangular shaft 58 which drives the upper part 59 of the slittingunit 8, 7 while allowing lateral adjustment of the edge trimming unit5.without disturbing the driving connection between the gear 51 and theshaft 58. The manner in which the gear train which has just beendescribed accommodates itself to u vertical movement of the upperhousingll with respect to lower housing I I will now be described. The shaftsof gears 41,501and' 53 are mounted in fixed bearings in the lowerhousing l l. 'The gears 56 and 51 are mounted in fixed bearings in theupper housing II. The upper intermediate gear 54 is mounted in bearingswhich are not fixed with respect to either of the housings, but whichare formedin part by links 63 pivotally mounted with respect to theyhousing I! and in part by links 6! which are pivotally mounted withrespect to the housing l2 (Fig. 7). g V f I The manner of constructingthis flexible link connection is shown in its preferred embodiment inFigs. 8 and 9 of the-drawings, whichshould be considered in connectionwith Fig. 7; In Fig. 9 the lower intermediate gear 53 is shown in mesh'with the upper intermediate gear 54. The'links 60 are provided withlaterally extending hubs 50a which are pivotally mounted in bearingsformed by the annular extensions 52 of the housing H. j

bearings 63 Concentric with these hearings are in which are received thetrunnions 54 of the intermediate gear 53; At their upper ends, the links60 are apertured at 65 to receive the'annular extensions of the links 6|which are disposed at the sides of the upper intermediate gear 54. Thelinks iii are recessed at 61 to provide bearings for the trunnions 68 ofthe upper intermediate gear 54. links 5| bear against the outer sides ofthe links 60, as will be seen in both Figs. 8 and 9. The links 6i attheir other ends are provided with apertures '10 to receive annulartrunnions it formed on the pinion 56, and concentricwith the shaft 55 onwhich the pinion 56 is mounted. Suitablebearings 12 may be provided inthe housing H for the shaft 55. The upper rotary edge trimming knife 52is secured by means of the studs 13 and the shaft is held in place inthe housing H by a nuts, 14.

Itwill be seen that by the arrangement just described I have providedmechanism for transmitting power from one shaft-(64) to a parallel shaft(55) movable withrespectthereto com-- prising a gear wheel mounted oneach shaft (gears 53 and 56) and an intermediate gear (54) l inmesh-with both of said gear wheels, the intermediate'gear beingconnected by links (60 and BI) to each of saidashafts so as tang'encybetween mediate gear (54) of the gear wheels and the pitch circlesof'each tween the shafts. Moreover, by the particular arrangement in,hichthe gears (54) as an intermediate gear wheels and two intermediategears"(53 and 54),- one ofwhich (53 is -mounted on 'a shaft stationarywith respect'to the-gearwheel (50)"but' movable with respect tothe-gearwheel (55) and the other of which-(50 1s mounted on a shaft (58)which is movable with respect-to of the gear wheels -(5ll"and 56); memksrenconnecting-the mov-q tionary intermediate with reference to ceptthat the parts are I6, 11, which are secured together at their Theflanges 59 vof the to the-shaft 55 as pair of lock provided to maintain,the pitch circle of the inter-.-

(53 and 55), while permitting F variation of the center-to-centerdistance be-;

and the U-stra ,t ether encirclin (5B. and 53) are p 0g gboth-femployed, andtregarding the'gear (53) as so that w'e have twointermediate gears,-:I"have provided mechanism-for: imparting; rotationto one shaft (55) by'a parallel shaft (53a)':'movable 1 with respectthereto to-drive them-1m oppositedirections"of-rotation which comprises'gear' 55) mounted -"on-each shaft and separately I 95, the two halvesbeing separated'a suitable disgearf(53) cooperating to maintaint'angency between the pitch circles thereof while permitting variationof thecenter to-center distances'betweenthe shafts. The construction ofthe edge trimming unit is the same as that which has been the edgetrimming unit 5, ex-

reversed. A detailed disclosure of the unit 4 is therefore unnecessary.

The housing H and the housing I2 are provided with cooperating flangesThe lower housing ll is formed of two complementary parts meeting. edgesby means of flanges 58 which are bolted together. The upper housing i2is likewise described formed of two complementary parts 15, 80, whichare bolted together at their meeting edges, which are provided with theflanges Bl (Fig. 10). half of the lower housing i i is provided withlaterally extending flanges 82 (Fig. 8) which are turned outwardly attheir extremities to provide bearing surfaces 83, 84, at right angles toeach other'for engagement with the bearing surfaces of similar flanges85 with which each halt of the upper housing i2 is provided.

The flanges 82 and 85 on the lower housing ii and upper housing l2,respectively, and the-bearing surface 15 in the upper portion of housingH maintain the proper'alignment between the two .hous'ings at all times,while permitting vertical adjustment of t e beam 3, the upper and lowergear housings l2 and'il cooperating to form a vertically telescopingunit. As previously mentioned, the lower housing H rests on horizontalguiding surfaces 35, 36, formed on the base casting i. The centralportion of the base casting l is cut away as indicated at 36 (Fig. 7) toallow the depending portion 81 ofthe'housing H to extend below theguides 35', 35 to receive the drive shaft 45. The housing H is furtherguided and positioned by means of the drive shaft 45 which is supportedin bearings at each end of the machine. Vertical guiding surfaces 38, 89are provided at the edges of the guides 35, 3t, cooperating withsurfaces formed on the housing II. The two halves i9 and of the upperhousing 12 are each formedwith upwardly extending arms 35, 9| embracingthe lower portion of beam- 3 and v "with guiding surfaces 92, 93 (Fig.'7) cooperating with the previously mentioned guides M formed on thebeam 3. The arms'9ll and ti are provided at their upper extremities withlaterally projecting flanges 34, 95, which arebolted to flanges formedon the straps 96 which embrace the upper portion of the beam 3, the arms90, 3!,

with the raised bearing surfaces 98 forrhedati upper housing I! and eachside r the beam 3., The assembling of the been described. "Thesupporting tion which has beam 3 is mounted on the end supports?! andthe two halves I9, 80 of the upper housing 12 are attached to theirsupporting straps tance Likewise the two halves lower housing the frameI and separated laterally. It will be understood that the variousbushings or bearing inserts are in place in the members 16, 11, 19 and80. The gear 41 is held in 15,1 1 of the' the beam 3' thereon.Replaceable Each units-'4 and-5 may be readily accomplished by virtue ofthe-construe II are placed on the guideways' of place against either 15of the housing members 14 or shaft inserted. The shaft a which carriesthe lower rotary knife II is then inserted through the housing member 16and the pinion 50 mounted thereon. The links sembled and slipped overthe trunnions 64 and 68 of the pinions 53 and 54 and the annulartrunnions .1I of the pinion 56. These pinions, together with the links,are then assembled with the lower housing member 16, inserting theannular bearing portion or hub a of the left-hand links, as viewed inFigs. 6 and 9, in the bearing 62 of the housing member 16. The pinion56, with its associated linkage, is then held in alignment with theaperture in the upper housing member 19 which is to receive the shaft55, and this shaft is .then inserted so that the pinions 41, St, 53, 54,56, together with the two pairs of links 60 and 6|, are all supported bythe left-hand housing members 16' and 18 of the unit 5. .The gear 51may, now be inserted in its bearing in the housing member 19 and thecomplementary housing members 11 and slid over against the members '16and 19 and bolted thereto to complete the assembly. It will, of course,be understood that the manner of assembling may be carried out otherwisethan I have specifically indicated, but

I have described one mode of assembly in order that the ease with whichthe edge trimming units may be assembled will be understood. Facility ofassembling is considered to be one of the advantages of the invention.This, together with ment and a greater degree of flexibility than any ofthe slitting machines previously known to the art.

After the vertical adjustment has been accomplished through the mediumof the adjusting means previously described, the beam is' locked inposition by means of the bolts 90, which pass through integral strapsI00 formed on the beam 3 and surrounding the cylindrical guiding portionI5 of the end pedestals 2 (Figs. 6 and 10). The adjustment is furthermaintained with respect to the lower and upper housing members I I and 4and 5 by means of the set screws IOI which are .provided with lock nutsI02 (Fig. 8). The set screws IIlI extend through the outwardly turnedportion of the flanges and bear against the cooperating guide surface ofthe flanges 82.

The lower part of the slitting unit 6 is driven directly from the driveshaft 45, as will be seen in Fig. 6, by means of a pinion I03 on thedrive shaft in mesh with a pinion I04 on the shaft I05 which carries thelower slitting knife I06. The pinions I03 and I04 are mounted incomplementary housing members I01, I08, which are secured together attheir meeting edges. The completed housing so formed is provided withtrunnions I 09 which are seated in bearings formed in the supportingbrackets 1 mounted on the base frame I. This construction allows thelower slitting unit to be rotated about the axis of the drive shaft 45for a purpose which will shortly appear. part of the slitting unit I isof similar construction, with the exception that it is driven by meansof the auxiliary shaft 48 gaged by the pinion 51 of the edge trimmingunit of the beam 3 60 and BI are next as-.

slitting unit 4 I2 of the edge trimming units a the handwheel I21.

which is slidably en- 11 and the drive slitter attachment comprisingupper and lower rotary knives each mounted on a separate shaft, each ofthese shafts being gear-connected to a shaft (45 and 58) about whichthey are rotatable to swing the knives toward and away from the plane ofthe sheet material passing through the machine.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 10 and 11 of the drawings, themechanism for controlling the position of the upper and lower parts ofthe 10 will now be described. Fig. 3 shows the unit I in operativeposition and Figs. 10 and 11 show the unit in inoperative position withthe slitting knives I", I II swung away from the plane of the sheetmaterial passing through 1 the machine but with the edge trimming knives5|, 52 in operative position. The lower part of the unit, which isindicated generally by the reference numeral H3 (Fig. 11), is providedwith a lateral extension II4 to which are pivoted links :0 III, which inturn are pivoted to a crank II. rigidly secured to the shaft II1, therotation of which is controlled by a handwheel I II. when this handwheelII 8 is rotated in counter-clockin Fig. 11, the lower as part II3 of theslitting unit is also rotated in a counter-clockwise direction until itoccupies the position shown in Fig. 3 where the stop I I9 formed on theextension II4 of the lower part III of the slitting unit comes to restagainst the guiding so surface It on the base casting I to positivelyposition the lower part I I3 of the slitting unit in operative position.As will be seen in Fig. 3, the form of the links III is such as to allowthe two pivotal points at their ends to be brought ap- 8| proximatelyinto alignment with the center of the control shaft II1 so that they actas a toggle to maintain the operative position of the slitting knife I.

When the handwheel I I8 is turned in the op- 40 posite direction towithdraw the lower part II! of the slitting unit into inoperativeposition it comes to rest against a stop surface I20 formed on the basecasting I (Fig. 11). The bearing for the inner end of the control shaftH1 is formed by a 6 bearing member III (Fig. 10) which is so mounted asto provide a slight vertical adjustment.

on the eye bolt at each side of the bracket.

A similar mechanism is provided to control the position of the upperpart II (Fig. 11) of the slitting unit. This mechanism consists of linksI24 pivoted to the housing I! and'to a crank I28 55 rigidly secured to acontrol shaft I24 operated by Aswill beseeninFig.3,the links I24, likethe links III, are so formed as to provide a toggle connection in whichthe pivotal points at the two ends of the links are brought .0 intosubstantial alignment with the axis of the control shaft I28 As in thecase of the bearing for the control shaft 1, the inner bearing for thecontrol shaft I! is likewise formed so as to permit a slight verticaladjustment. ingis formed by the bracket III which is ad- 10 iusted bymeans of the nuts I" at each side of a fixed bracket I II through whichpasses the eye bolt II! which is in turn pivotally secured to thebracket I20. The operation of the control mechanism for the upper orbeam-mated I.

- resentative' of a specific embodiment of the various features whichcharacterize my invention is h which it appertains.

' by said horizontal beam the rotary knives knives.

. to the beam-mounted slitting knife 0, it will only arranged to beswung be'seen that it is not about the axis of its drive shaft 58, but.is also so arranged that the edge trimming unit from which it is drivenmay be moved laterally parallelto .the axis of shaft 58, whilemaintaining the driving connection between the edge trimming unit andthe slitting unit.

The mechanism which I have described as repsusceptible of numerousvariations-as will readily be understood by those schooled in the artto.

I claim:

1. 'A machine. for trimming .sheet material comprising a base frame andvertical end supports, a horizontal beam carried by said end supports, aplurality of rotary knives carried by said base frame, rotary knivescarried by said horizontal beam and cooperating with said first-mentionrotary knives, means for driving said rotary knives in cooperatingpairs, means for adjusting cooperating pairs of knives as a unit withrespect to other cooperating pairs, and means for raisin and loweringthe beam on said end supports to uniformly adjust the cooperating pairsof rotary knives.

2. A machine for trimming sheet material comprising a base frame andvertical end supports, a horizontal beam carried by said end supports,-a plurality of rotary knives individually supported by said base frame,rotary knives individually suspended from said horizontal beam andcooperating with said first-mentioned rotary knives, unitary means fordriving each pair of co.- operating knives from a common drive shaft,and means for raising and lowering thebeam on said end supports touniformly adjust the cooperating sets of rotary knives.

3. A machine'for trimming and slitting sheet material comprising a baseframe and vertical end supports, a horizontal beam carriedby said endsupports, rotary edge trimming knives and a rotary slitting knifecarried by said base frame, rotary edge trimming and slitting knivescarried and cooperating with carried by the base frame. means fordriving all of said knives from a common drive shaft including unitarymeans for driving each pair of cooperating edge trimming knives fromsaid shaft, means for driving the beam-mounted slitting knife throughone of said trimming knife drive means, and means for raising andlowering the beam on said end supports to uniformly adjust thecooperating sets of rotary for trimming and slitting sheet base frameand vertical beam carried by said 4. A machine material comprising a endsupports, a horizontal end supports, an edge unit comprising twocooperating rotary knives one of which is carried .by said base frameand the other by said horizontal beam, a slitting unit comprising twocooperating rotary knives one of which'is carried by said base frameand'the other by said horizontalbeam, means for driving the beam-mountedslitting knife from I the edge trimming unit, and means for laterallyadjusting the edge trimming unit toward and away from the slittingvdriven from the upper with a rotary knife mounted on and driven from Ibeam and a lower gear 5. Amachine for trimming sheet material comprisinga base frame and vertical end supports, a horizontal beam carried bysaid end supports and vertically adjustable with respect to said baseframe, an ,upper. ear beam and a lower gear housing carried by said baseframe, said upper and lower gear housings cooperating to form avertically telescoping unit and permit the aforesaid vertical adjustmentofv the beam, and arotary knife mounted on and to housing andcooperating the lower housing.

6. A machine for trimming sheet material comprising a base frame andvertical end supports, 15 a horizontal beam carried by said end supportsand vertically adjustable with respect to said base frame, an upper gearhousing carried by said housing carried by said base frame,said uppercooperating to form a vertically telescoping unit a and permit theaforesaid vertical adjustment of the beam, a rotary knife mounted on theupper housing and cooperating with a rotary knife mounted on the lowerhousing, and gears mounted 25 in said telescoping unit arranged to drivebothsaid upper and lower knives from a drive shaft passing through saidlower gear housing.

7. A machine for trimming sheet material comprising a base frame andvertical end supports, a horizontal beam carried by said end supportsand vertically adjustable with respect to said base frame, an upper gearhousing .carried by said beam and a lower gear housing carried by saidbase frame, said upper and lower gear housings cooperating to form avertically telescoping unit and permit the aforesaid vertical adjustmentof the beam, a rotary knife mounted on the upper housing and cooperatingwith a' rotary knife mounted on the lower housing, and a flexible geartrain contained in said unit arranged to drive both said upper and lowerknives from a drive shaft in said lower gear housing while permittingthe aforesaid vertical adjustment.

8. A machine for trimming sheet material com- 45 prising a base frameand vertical end supports, a horizontal beam carried by said endsupports and vertically adjustable with respect to said base frame, anupper gear housing carried by said beam and a lower gear housing carriedby Iii) said base frame, said upper and lower gear housings cooperatingto form a vertically telescoping unit.and permit the aforesaid verticaladjustment of the beam, a rotary knife mounted onthe upper housing andcooperating with a rotary 5 knife mounted on the lower housing, geardriven means for rotating both said upper and lower knives comprising agear connected by links to a shaft fixed with respect to said upper gearhousing and to a shaft fixed with respect to said 00 lower housing.

9. A machine for trimming and slitting sheet material comprising a baseframe and end supports, a horizontal beam carried by saidand supports,rotary edge trimming knives and a 6 rotary slitting knife carried bysaid base frame,- rotary edge trimming and slitting knives carried bysaid horizontal beam and cooperating with the rotary knives carried bythe base frame, means for independent, lateral adjustment of eachcooperating pair of-rotary trimming knives as a unit, and means formoving the rotary slitting knives into and outwf operative positionindependently of said pairs of edge trimming 1 knives.

housing carried by'said 5 and lower gear housings 20 10. A machine fortrimming and slitting sheet material comprising a; base frame and endsup ports, a horizontal beam carried by said end supports, rotary edgetrimming knives and a rotary slitting knife carried by said base frame,rotary edge trimming and slitting knives carried by said horizontal beamand cooperating with the rotary knives carried by the base frame, meansfor independent lateral adjustment of each cooperating pair of rotarytrimming knives as a unit, means for moving the rotary slitting knivesinto and out of operative position independently of said pairs of edgetrimming knives and means for driving all of said knives from a commondrive shaft. Y

11. .A machine for trimming and slitting sheet material comprising abase frame and vertical end supports, a horizontal beam carried by saidend supports, an edge trimming unit comprising two cooperating rotaryknives one of which is carried by said base frame and the other by saidhorizontal beam; a slitting unit comprising two cooperating rotaryknives one of which is carried by said base frame-and the other by saidhorizontal beam, means for driving the beam-mounted slitting knife'fromthe edge trimming unit Y and for rotating said beam-mounted slittingknife into and out ofoperative position.

12. A machine for trimming and slitting sheet material comprising a baseframe and vertical end supports, 'a horizontal beam carried by said endsupports, an edge trimming unit comprising two cooperating rotarykniveslone of which is carriedby said base frame and the other by said'horizontal beam, a slitting 'unit comprising two cooperating rotaryknives one of which is carried by said base frame and the other by saidhorizontal beam, means for driving the beammounted'slitting knife from.the edge trimming unit,.said means comprising a slidable shaft geared tosaid slitting knife whereby'the slitting knife may be swung about theaxis of said shaft and the edge trimming unit moved laterally parallelto said axis while maintaining the driving connection between the edgetrimming unit and the slitting unit.

13. In a machine for slitting' sheet material, a

' swinging slitter attachment comprising upper and lower rotary knives,each of saidrotary knives mounted on a separate shaft and each of saidshafts gear-connected to a shaft about which theyare rotatable to swingsaid knives toward 14. In a machine for slitting sheet material, a'

A swinging slitter attachment comprising cooperat ing upper and lowerslitting devicesdisposed on opposite sides of the sheet material passingthrough .the machine and rotatably mounted on the frame of the machinefor movement toward and away from said sheet material, links pivoted Ito each'slitting device and connected to a shaft rotatable to controlthe adjustment of said slitting devlces in and out .of operativeposition.

15. In a rotary shearing machine, a vertically adjustable cutting unitcomprising an upper and a lower gear housing cooperating to formavertically telescoping unit, cooperating knives carried by a shaft ineach of said housings, and flexing.

ible means carried by said housings arranged to drive said knivesthrough their shafts from a common drive shaft. 16. In a machine fortrimming sheet material, cooperating pairs of rotary edge trimmingknives,' means for adjusting one knife of each pair simultaneously withone knife of all other pairs, means for driving each pair of cooperatingknives as a unit, and means for laterally adjusting each pairofcooperating knives as a unit.

17. In a machine for trimming and slitting sheet material, cooperatingpairs of rotary knives, means for adjusting one knife in each pairsimultaneously with one knife of all other pairs, means for driving eachpair of cooperating knives as a unit, and means for laterally adjustingeach pair of cooperating edge trimming knives as a unit.

18. In a machine for trimming sheet material, an-adjustable edgetrimming unit comprising an upper and lower gear housing cooperating toform a vertically telescoping unit, a shaft carried by each of saidhousings, a rotary knife mounted on each of said shafts, the knivesbeing mounted to cooperate in cutting relationship, and a flex- 2 iblegear. train carried .by said telescoping unit arranged to drive oneknife shaft from the other.

. 19. In a machine for trimmingsheet material, a vertically adjustableedge trimming unit comprising an upper and lower gear housing 00-operatingto form a vertically telescoping unit, a

,shaft carried by each of said housings, a rotary knife mounted on eachof said shafts, the knives being mounted to cooperate in cuttingrelationship, and, gears mounted in said telescoping unit arranged todrive one 'of said knife shafts from the other, the driving shaft itselfbeing gear driven from a drive shaft passing through said -lower gearhousing.

20. In a machine for trimming sheetmaterial 40 wherein a base frame andvertical end frames support a horizontal beam that is verticallyadjustable with respect to the base frame, the combination of an upperand lower gear housing carried by said horizontal beam and said baseframe respectively, the housings cooperating to form a verticallytelescopingunit, a rotary knife mounted on a shaft carried by theupper'housing, a second rotary knife mounted on a shaft carried by thelower housing, the knives being arranged to' cooperate in cuttingrelationship, and gear means for driving the upper knife shaft throughthe lower knife shaft from a drive shaftpassing through said lowerhousing, said means including a gear connected by a pair of links tosaid 55 upper" knife'shaft and by a second pair of links to a shaftdriven by said lower knife shaft, said gear being fixed with respect tosaid lower hous- 21. A machine for, trimming sheet material comprising abase frame and vertical end supports, a'horizontal beam carried by saidendsupports and vertically adjustable with respect to said base frame,an upper gear housing and a lower gear housing carried by said beam andsaid base frame respectively, said upperand lower gear housingscooperating to form a vertically telescoping unit andpermit theaforesaid vertical adjustment of the beam, a rotary knife mountedon'a'shaft carried bythe upper housing, a rotary-knife mounted on a shaftcarriedby said lower housing; the said knives being arranged tocooperate'in cutting relationship, and

means contained in said unit for'driving both said upper and lower knifeshafts from a common 7.8

other by said horizontal beam,

shaft passing through said lower gear housin said means comprising agear wheel mounted on each of said knife shafts, two intermediate-gearsone of which is mounted on with respect to the lower gear wheel, and theother of which is supported on a shaft movable with respect to both ofsaid gear wheels, the knife shaft gear wheels being in mesh with theintermediate gears and the intermediate gears being in mesh with eachother to form a gear train, and links connecting the said intermediategear movable shaft with the upper knife shaft and stationaryintermediate gear shaft, whereby the gear train is maintained in meshthroughout the range of vertical adjustment.

,22. In a machine sheet material comprising a base frame and verticalend supports, a horizontal beam carried by said end supports, an edgetrimming unit comprising two cooperating rotary knives one of which iscarried by said base frame and the a slitting unit comprising twocooperating rotary knives one of which is carried by said base frame andthe other by said horizontal beam, erally adjusting the edge trimmingunit toward and away from the slitting unit, and gear driven means fordriving the beam-mounted slitting knife from the edge trimming unit,said gear driven means comprising a shaft carried by said edge trimmingunit, said shaft having a central configured bore, and a second shaftgeared at one end to drive said beam-mounted slitting knife, said secondshaft having throughout the major portion of its length a cross sectioncomplementary to that of said bore, the configured shaft being slidablyengaged within said hollow shaft to complete the driving connectionthroughout the range of lateral adjustment of said edge trimming unit.

23. A machine for trimming and slitting sheet material comprising a baseframe and vertical end supports, an horizontal beam carried by said endsupports, rotary edge trimming knives and a rotary slitting knifecarried by said base frame, rotary edge trimming knives and a rotaryslitting knife carried by said horizontal beam and cooperating with theknives carried by said base frame, means for driving all of said knivesfrom a common drive shaft in cooperating pairs, means for laterallyadjusting each of said edge trimming pairs as a unit with respect to theother cooperating pairs of rotary knives, and means for raising andlowering the beam on said end supports to uniformly adjust the operativecutting relationship of said pairs of knives.

24. A machine for trimming sheet material, comprising a base frame andvertical end supports, a horizontal beam carried by said end supports,rotary edge trimming knives carried by said base frame and by said beamto form cooperating pairs, each-of said pairs of cooperatingknives beinglaterally adjusted as a unit, and means for raising and lowering thebeam to adjust the rotary knives.

25. A machine for trimming sheet material, comprising a base frame andvertical end supports, a horizontal beam carried by said end supports,lower and upper rotary knives carried a shaft stationary for trimmingand slitting means for let each coperating pair of by said base frameand said beam respectively to form cooperating pairs, individual meansfor driving each of said pairs of cooperating knives, each of said meansbeing drive shaft, and means for vertically adjusting the horizontalbeam to increase and decrease the center to center distance betweencooperating knives.

26. A machine for trimming and slitting sheet material, comprising abase frame and'vertical end supports, a horizontal beam carried by saidend supports, rotary edge trimming knives and a rotary slitting knifecarried by said base frame, rotary edge trimming and slitting knivescarried by said horizontal beam and cooperatin with the rotary knivescarried by the base frame, means for driving each of said pairs ofcooperating knives from a common drive shaft, including individual meansfor driving each pair of edge trimming knives from the said commonshaft, and means for raising and lowering the beam on said end supportsto uniformly adjust the cooperating sets of rotary knives.

27. In a machine for trimming sheet material, cooperating pairs ofrotary knives, means for adjusting one knife of each pair simultaneouslywith one knife of all other pairs, and individual means for driving eachof said pairs of cooperating knives, each of said means being drivenfrom a common drive shaft.

28. In a machine for trimming and slitting sheet material, cooperatingpairs of rotary knives, means for adjusting one knife of each pairsimultaneously with one knife of all other pairs, and means for drivingeach of said pairs of cooperating knives from a power, includingindividual means for driving each pair of trimming knives.

29. In a machine for trimming and slitting sheet material, cooperatingpairs of rotary knives, means for independent lateral adjustment of edgetrimming knives for moving the rotary out of operative position pairs ofedge trimming as a unit, and means slitting knives-into andindependently of said knives.

30.-In a machine for trimming and slitting sheet material, cooperatingpairs of rotary knives, means for adjusting one knife in each pairsimultaneously with one knife of all other pairs, means for independentlateral adjustment of each cooperating pair of rotary edge trimmingknives as a unit, and means for moving the rotary slitting knives intoand out of operative position independently of said pairs of edgetrimming knives.

31.. In a machine for trimming and slitting sheet material, cooperatingpairs of rotary knives, means for adjusting one knife in each pairsimultaneously with one knife of all other of each cooperating pair ofrotary edge trimming knives as a unit, means for moving the rotaryslitting knives into and out of operative position independently of saidpairs of edge trimming knives, and means for driving each pair of saidknives from a common source of power.

GARDNER L. WINTERS.

driven from a common common source of

